Eagles likely to endure another rocky campaign

Published: Sunday, August 22, 1999

ANDY PENNEYA-J Correspondent

SOUTHLAND Second-year head coach Neal Wilcox found out in his debut season what it was like to be on the losing end. His Southland squad went through many long Friday nights, capturing only one win versus nine losses in 1998.

And with only one returning starter, no seniors and two juniors on the team, the Eagles may face tougher challenges in 1999. Wilcox, however, is not concerned about his kids backing down.

"The one thing I am sure of is that we are going to get after it," Wilcox said. "We want our guys to have a competitive spirit and build confidence this year. We don't have any seniors, so we have a chance to start building for the next two years.

"We not going to have any depth, so we're depending on our sophomores to step up. We've got four sophomores that played on the varsity basketball team as freshman. They are all good athletes with some quickness and speed."

Southland Eagles

One of those four sophomores is quarterback David Martinez, the lone returning starter for the Eagles. He will operate Southland's new offensive look that is moving from a power running game to the wide open, triple-option look.

Sophomore Zack Ford did start half of last year's season, and he should be a mainstay in the backfield. Sophomore Thomas Powell has the edge for the other tailback spot. Other probable starters on the offense are junior guard Daniel Butler, junior end Eric Valencia and 185-pound freshman center Joel Reyes.

"David has the most experience, so he is going to have to be our leader and carry us," Wilcox said. "But he's a pretty mature kid for a sophomore."

Stopping other offenses could be a problem for the Eagles. Powell and Ford are going to start in the middle of the defense at the linebacker positions. Martinez will play both ways, doubling at safety. Valencia and sophomore Josh Sadler will start on the defensive front line at the ends. Butler rounds out the starting six at nose guard.

Outlook

With only one returning starter and no seniors from a 1-9 squad in 1998, Southland will have to count on underclassmen to compete on Friday nights.